BanglaFootball.net - Bangladesh Football

World Cup Fever Sweeps Bangladesh

2010-06-17T20:11:00.000+01:00

World Cup fever has taken over Bangladesh, with passionate fans decorating their homes, offices, factories, markets and vehicles with the flags of teams who will be playing in South Africa.

Some have even draped huge banners over the front of their buildings - and most of them are the blue and white of Argentina.

"In my family, six of us support Argentina, and two support Brazil. It's the same thing across Bangladesh," Salim Javed, a businessman said.

"I have supported them since I was a child and watched Maradona on TV.

"Now they have Messi and Tevez. That's why they are so popular," he said.

"This might be a cricket-playing nation, but during the World Cup we go crazy for football. We'll go back to cricket next month," Salim Javed said.

Kamruzaman, a factory worker and Brazil fan, says he intends to watch every match, however late in the night they are, with supporters of both teams.

"For us football means Argentina and Brazil. You know that in Bangladesh we have two political parties which always argue with each other. It is the same thing with us and football. It will be good fun," he said.

The past few weeks have been a boom time for tailors and flag-sellers.

Abdul Aziz says he makes between 100 and 150 Argentina flags a day with his sewing machine in an alleyway close to the national stadium.

"Normally Eid [the main Muslim festival] is my busiest time, when I'm making new clothes for people. But this World Cup has been even better than Eid," he said.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) now hopes that it too can benefit.

"Football has always been popular here but cricket has recently become very well established," BFF vice-president Badal Roy said.

"We hope that the World Cup will encourage more people to play.

"People are so enthusiastic about football right now and watching all these games will help them understand much better how it is played," he said.

Source: BBC News

BanglaFootball.net is Back!

2010-06-16T20:48:00.002+01:00

After almost one and a half years, BanglaFootball.net is back to bring you the latest news on Bangladesh football. The site has undergone some great changes, mainly the new 'Features & Analysis" section on the homepage. And there is more to come over the coming weeks!

And now you can stay in touch with BanglaFootball.net in more ways than ever before:

Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to BanglaFootballTV on YouTube
Subscribe to our RSS feed
And get email updates delivered straight to your inbox!

BanglaFootball.net has embraced new social media, helping you stay connected with what's going on. Don't hesitate to interact with us, and with so many different ways to do so, you have no excuse!

Football Shirt Review

2009-02-16T11:16:00.001Z

Being a huge football fan, I have amassed quite a large collection of football jerseys, over the years. Obviously as it is near impossible to get hold of an authentic Bangladesh national jersey, I have to show my love for my other teams. And my favourite club team is the great Manchester United, whom I've supported since I was a little boy.

Because Manchester United are one of the most popular teams in the world, it is very easy to get hold of a Manchester United jersey. And when they released their new royal blue third kit this season, I had to have it! So I trawled the internet looking for the best deals I could find, and stumbled upon SoccerPro.com. The site looked very promising and with its easy navigation, I was able to find the shirt I was looking for.

I was a bit dubious to place an order from they were located in the US. This led me to believe that I would get a different version of the Nike Manchester United Third Jersey from what is sold in shops here in the UK. Nevertheless, due to their great value, I placed the order.

Delivery did not take long, especially considering it came from across the Atlantic! I was pleasantly surprised to find that the jersey is exactly what I would find in the UK. Everything about the jersey is top quality from the stitching of badge to strength of the material. I played my first footy match with the jersey on the other day, and I must say it was highly comfortable. It has one of those sweat ventilation type technologies, which you can tell I'm not too familiar with the workings of! But it helped me during the match as I stayed relatively dry compared to my team mates.

The jersey was packaged nicely and no damage had occurred during transit. Overall, I am extremely happy with this purchase and I would definitely use SoccerPro.com again, when the new shirts come out next season!

New Sports Betting Section on 888.com

2008-12-23T18:57:00.000Z

888.com online casino is one of the most well known brands and they are into sport as well, they are the sponsors of the Middlesbrough and Sevilla Football Clubs and 888 also sponsor the World Snooker Championship.

888 online casino and poker room offers a huge variety of casino games such as blackjack (and their version of the game - crazy blackjack), online roulette, slots and more.

In 2006 they added online bingo by acquiring the Globalcom brand, and this year, finally, they will launch the sports betting section as a new feature allowing players to get all of their poker, casino and sports betting needs from one site.

The sports betting new section should be a very popular one with fans from all over the world and will offer sport fans the chance to bet on the most popular sporting events.

English Football and the Web

2008-11-11T19:08:00.000Z

As much as I enjoy keeping up with Bangladesh football from here there are many locals who enjoy following the English League that is, after all, the most followed league in the world.

One way to get full information on just about everything that is going on the English leagues is via the web. There are many website but one of the best that I have found gives not only all the latest news but also details on football odds and fixtures.

The big advantage to using the web is of course that you can choose when and where you catch up on your football. These days you can even get live video feeds for important games.

Friendly Soccer Tie on Eid Day

2008-10-01T22:33:00.002+01:00

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has arranged a friendly match on Eid at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

A BFF XI and a National Sports Council XI will play the match that will start at 6pm at the big bowl.

The national camp players, who are preparing for this month's Merdeka Cup in Malaysia, and the B. League players will take part in the match.

BFF vice-president Badal Roy said that they would arrange the match to inspire the footballers.

BFF and Citycell Sign Deal

2008-07-15T11:17:00.002+01:00

The partnership between Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and Citycell that is expected to give the dying game in the country a lifeline was made official yesterday after the two parties signed an MoU for the development of football.

Citycell will provide the cash-starved BFF Tk 16.5 crore over the next three years as the federation's 'partner in progress'.

"I thank Citycell for its generosity and hope it will be with us beyond the three years," said BFF president Kazi Salahuddin before signing the deal at the BFF Bhaban.

"These three years will be a chance to prove ourselves and if we do well, I hope the sponsors will remain with us," the former national footballer added.

When asked whether the amount was sufficient to implement all the programmes the new BFF committee has taken, Salahuddin said that 'sky is the limit for football'.

"We need millions but this is the base from where we can start climbing. Now it's our responsibility to take it further ahead. We are close to roll football to the ground as the Citycell Federation Cup starts on July 26. From then on, we will keep football on the ground for ten months. That was the promise my committee had made," Salahuddin said.

Citycell will be the title sponsors of the Federation Cup, B. League and the school championships and left options for the BFF to drag in other sponsors for tournaments like the National Football League and the national senior and youth championships. The cellular phone operators will happily act as co-sponsors for other events.

"We are still working on the details of the deal but the sponsored amount for the B. League is Tk one crore. As I had promised, 70 percent of it will be handed over to the clubs before the professional league."

The funds would be provided part by part, according to requirements of the programmes set by the BFF, confirmed the BFF chief.

Michael Seymour, CEO of Citycell, said three years is a 'fair enough' time to be in a position to assess whether his organisation would continue its support afterwards.

"We are here to support BFF and look forward to revival of football through the BFF plans that have been shown to us. "We believe that it can be achieved as there is massive interest for the game. It would be a milestone if we could play part in the big revival of the game," said the chief executive of the country's only CDMA mobile phone network.

"It would take a lot of efforts to develop the game among the youth and we would also like to see that the money is wisely spent.

"It is my great pleasure and honour to be present on this historic occasion when Citycell joins hands with the BFF to bring back to life the passion foot football in this country. Although the number of success (in international arena) in recent times is few, there are innumerable opportunities to rejuvenate the game by realising the latent talent of our youth.

"Our passion for the game is evident and with positive development of football, we foresee our youth reviving the game not only within the country but also taking on these global challenges in the years to come.

"We are collaborating with BFF under an agreement which is renewable every year for three years and is subject to the performance of the federation in bringing football back to its former glory and beyond. Under the dynamic and able leadership of the BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, we believe this is the right time to enter into this relationship."

The BFF high-ups and Citycell's head of marketing Ananda Rajasinghan and general manager (marketing, communications and branding) Sania Mahmood were also present at the agreement signing ceremony.

BFF Connects Citycell with Landmark Deal

2008-07-14T11:10:00.000+01:00

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has struck a landmark sponsorship deal with Citycell worth Tk 16.5 crore for three years, the biggest ever trade in the country's football history.

Although it was reported that Citycell, one of the leading cellular phone operators, will give the governing body of football Tk 15 crore, BFF president Kazi Salahuddin yesterday confirmed that the deal was worth more.

"We are going to get 16.5 crore taka for the next three years when Citycell will be our partner in progress," the BFF boss, who was given sole authority to complete the deal by his executive committee, told The Daily Star.

An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) will be signed between the two parties this afternoon at the BFF Bhaban, two and half months after the newly elected BFF body's takeover. The details of the deals will be disclosed to the media after signing of the MoU.

The former national footballer added that Citycell will get title sponsorship rights of two major tournaments under the federation, this month's Federation Cup and the B. League, apart from the school competitions.

Citycell, however, looked to snatch the sponsorship from the grasp of rival cellular phone operators Aktel, who at one stage were seemingly ahead in the race.

It was learned that Aktel - now in the backseat - had wanted a few more days to convince its high-ups for a contract but the delay probably paved way for the country's only CDMA network, which sealed the victory around midnight on Saturday.

The BFF president, who had begun negotiating with major corporate houses to get a worthy sponsorship deal since occupying the hot seat of Bangladesh football, has already said that he would need a number of co-sponsors to meet the demand of organising tournaments and run development programmes according to his plans.

"I want to our my own fund for the development programmes and events so that I can use the money we get from FIFA and AFC to concentrate on bringing full professionalism to the management of the federation," he said.

It can be mentioned that the FIFA gives the BFF 2.5 lakh dollars per annum as donation and the AFC provides 70,000 dollars for salary of BFF coaches.

Basically, the BFF's previous executive committee survived on these contributions as it only managed less than Tk 5 crore as sponsorship for the last six years.

A major portion of the amount, however, was given by National Football League sponsors Nitol-Tata Group for three editions of the tournament.

For a starving federation - Salahuddin's committee started with a cash deficit of nearly Tk 40 lakh - the deal is like a silver lining in dark clouds if one considers that football had not been played at top level in the country for one year.

Although the BFF had sold its inaugural professional football league to an Indian agency for at least Tk 75 lakh last year, the B. League ended without any title sponsor. The co-sponsors, however, provided a scanty amount.

Bangladesh 2-2 Afghanistan

2008-06-07T10:49:00.000+01:00

Video highlights of Bangladesh v Afghanistan, which was played on 6th June 2008 in the South Asian Football Federation Championship. The match report can be found here.

Bangladesh Stay Alive

2008-06-07T10:46:00.001+01:00

In one of their most remarkable recoveries in a football match, Bangladesh came from a two-goal deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw against Afghanistan in a SAFF Championship Group B clash yesterday.

Although holders India and co-hosts Maldives confirmed their semifinal berths from Group A after two rounds on Thursday, the Sri Lankan leg of the competition remained open after three successive draws in Group B.

Bangladesh, who suffered a shocking 1-1 draw with Bhutan in the opener, and Afghanistan, who also threw away the lead twice to draw 2-2 with co-hosts Sri Lanka, both stayed alive for the last four places following a battle at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Bangladesh and Afghanistan are level on two points but the latter have the advantage of having a match in hand against rank-outsiders Bhutan.

To reach the semifinals, Bangladesh - who play Sri Lanka in tomorrow's group finale - need to win regardless of the home side's result against Bhutan yesterday.

Afghanistan, whose FIFA ranking this June climbed 14 places up to reach 182 - one place above Bangladesh - after qualifying for the AFC Challenge Cup finals last month, stormed the rival fort from the word go.

The war-torn country, which returned to competitive football just five years earlier and were hammered 9-1 to Maldives in the 2005 SAFF Championship opener in Karachi, got the reward and were leading against the 2003 winners and two-time runners-up 2-0 by the 24th minute.

Abu Yusuf ignored veteran Nazrul although the coach fielded three central defenders in a changed 5-3-2 formation. Bangladesh had to commit a series of fouls early to stop the marauding Afghans but Zohib Islam capitalised on a mistake by rightback Hassan Al Mamun to set up Ata Yamrali's goal with a placing shot in the seventh minute.

Mostafa Hadid doubled the lead with a sidevolley from a 24th minute counter attack as Bangladesh stared at a defeat.

The second half, however, saw the all reds come out with a plan and prepared to execute it smartly.

Emily won a penalty in the 52nd minute and converted it after Afghanistan defender Ali Ahmad had tripped the striker.

Abul came close to score the equaliser but his tremendous volley from 20 yards was punched out by the Afghan goalie Amiri. The resulting corner gave Bangladesh one vital point as Mamunul Islam's curling left-footed drive from the left fooled Amiri to find the net through a forest of defenders in the 70th minute.

Once again, former captain Arif Khan Joy held the midfield but he was forced to leave the field following a serious tackle from behind.

Bangladesh should have been awarded another penalty but the referee ignored a foul on young striker Komol in the dying moments.

On Thursday, Ismail Mohamed and Ibrahim Fazeel each scored twice in Maldives' 4-1 defeat of Nepal in Male to ensure their place in the semis along side India. The two sides will meet today to decide the group winners.

Bangladesh 1-1 Bhutan

2008-06-05T10:40:00.000+01:00

Video highlights of Bangladesh v Bhutan, which was played on 4th June 2008 in the South Asian Football Federation Championship. The match report can be found here.

Bhutan Hold Bangladesh

2008-06-05T10:35:00.000+01:00

Bangladesh kicked off their fifth SAFF Championship campaign dourly when the 2003 champions were held to a 1-1 draw by minnows Bhutan yesterday.

Although 2005 SAFF runners-up Bangladesh's chances to regain the trophy looked remote when they left for Sri Lanka last month, everyone had taken a victory for granted against Bhutan, who lost all their previous six matches in 2003 and 2005 SAFF Championships.

Despite the threat of heavy rains of an early monsoon, which has created massive flood and landslide in Sri Lanka, killing at least 17 people and forcing over 2.5-lakh people to leave their homes, the match began on schedule at the Sugathadasa Stadium, which had its pitch waterlogged on Tuesday.

Bangladesh went ahead after 26 minutes through defender-turned midfielder Arup Baidya's maiden international goal following a solo effort but Abu Yusuf's side conceded the stunning equaliser in the 79th minute.

It was Nima Sanghe who scored Bhutan's second ever goal against Bangladesh after losing all five earlier matches, 3-0 in the 2005 SAFF in Karachi, 3-0 in the 2003 SAFF in Dhaka, 3-1 in a friendly in Dhaka in 2001, 3-0 in the 1987 SAF Games in Kolkata amd 2-0 in the Kathmandu SAF Games in 1984.

Meanwhile, co-hosts Maldives got off to a perfect start when they crushed Pakistan 3-0 on Tuesday night in Male. Mohamed Shifan put the home side ahead in the dying minutes of first half and ace striker Ahmed Thoriq's header early in the second half doubled the lead. An own goal by Pakistan defender Naveed Akram in the final seconds of the game sealed the victory for Maldives.

Bangladesh Face Bhutan Today

2008-06-04T10:33:00.000+01:00

Bhutan will give Bangladesh another opportunity to win their first international match in over two years when the two sides meet in the Group B opener of the fifth SAFF Football Championship in Colombo today.

The match, which kicks off at 5.30 pm (Bangladesh time) at the Sugathadasa Stadium, will be telecast live by ATN Bangla.

Having won the 2003 SAFF Championship at home, Bangladesh ran two years and 11 months without an international win and broke the duck when they crushed Bhutan 3-0 in the 2005 SAFF Championship opener in Karachi.

Abu Yusuf's boys now face the South Asian minnows in a similar situation and feel confident to end their latest lean patch of two years and two months, which started after beating Guam 3-0 in the inaugural AFC Challenge Cup at home in April 2006.

Winners in 2003 and runners-up in Karachi, Bangladesh are pitted against Afghanistan and co-hosts Sri Lanka in their group.

National captain Aminul Haque told in a message to the Bangladesh Football Federation yesterday that the team's morale is high after a good preparation match against Thailand's BEK Toro FC, which ended in a goalless draw in Bangkok on May 30.

"We have managed to correct many of our mistakes and are now prepared to beat Bhutan to take a step towards the semifinal, which is our initial target," Aminul said.

"Everyone in the country wants us to win this trophy and we are like a family here. We are determined to give our 100 percent to make this tournament a success.

"We are not taking Bhutan lightly but we will be there to win," added the Bangladesh goalkeeper.

Bangladesh have won both their previous meetings with Bhutan, in 2003 and 2005 SAFF Championships, by identical margins of 3-0.

Meanwhile, defending champions India got off to a flying start when they routed Nepal 4-0 in the tournament opener in Maldives capital Male yesterday with goals from Pradeep, Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chetri and Sushil Kumar.

Blatter Congratulates Salahuddin

2008-05-04T21:31:00.001+01:00

FIFA president Sep Blatter congratulated newly-elected Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) chief Kazi Salahuddin.

In a faxed letter to Salahuddin, the country's football legend, Blatter stated that the election represents a historical milestone in Bangladesh football and also appreciated that a former footballer has come forward to take the helm.

Blatter promised his personal support to BFF president Salahuddin saying, "In this task (as president), you can rely on my support and on FIFA assistance to develop football in Bangladesh after years of difficulties for the BFF."

Blatter also conveyed his good wishes to Salahuddin's colleagues after their successful election of April 28.

Forum Added!

2008-05-01T22:01:00.002+01:00

Just want to say that I have finally created the BanglaFootball.net Forum!

So sign up, and start discussing anything related to Bangladesh football and more. Don't be shy now, the forum needs as many new members as possible, in order to create a healthy discussion area.

See you there!

Amin Ahmed to Run for BFF Presidency

2008-04-14T12:41:00.000+01:00

The election of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) received a sensational twist yesterday when Maj Gen (retd) Amin Ahmed Chowdhury announced his candidature for the president's post.

The announcement put end to talks of a unified panel for the April 28 polls as Kazi Salahuddin, who needs no introduction to football lovers of the country, has already declared that he would contest for the hot seat of the federation.

On the other hand, it still remains an enigma whether the incumbent president SA Sultan will compete in the election or not.

Yesterday's showdown of the ex-army official however indicates a tough battle for Salahuddin, arguably the best footballer the country has ever produced who quit as vice-president after a dispute with Sultan.

Amin Ahmed expressed his desire to contest the polls at a press conference at the National Sports Council (NSC) conference room.

Abahani director Nabil Ahmed Chowdhury, Mohammedan general secretary Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, president of Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra Nurul Alam Chowdhury, Victoria president Shawkat Ali Khan Jahangir, former BFF general secretary Harunur Rashid, Badal Roy, Zakaria Pintoo, Salam Murshedi, Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, Rumman Bin Wali Sabbir were also present.

One might be surprised at Amin Ahmed's sudden appearance into the footballing scene and when questioned, he said, "I have been thinking of contesting the polls since October-November so it is not a sudden decision. I was in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1985 and 1993 SAF Games held in Dhaka. Other than that, I have been watching football since my childhood. I have come forward to work and bring back the glory days of football."

Confirming that he did meet Salahuddin regarding the formation of the unified force, Amin Ahmed explained, "Salahuddin is Bangladesh's pride. I took the proposal of the unified panel to him but he told me that he had thought of running for the president's post long ago."

The panel is still not settled but the presence of prominent figures of the football arena merely confirmed them as part of Amin Ahmed's panel.

Meanwhile, in a late night change of clubs, Amin Ahmed went from being a councillor of Muktijoddha Sangsad to Badda Jagarani. "I have been with Badda since the days of KZ Islam. A lot of other clubs also wanted me to be their councillor and as the government circular was not issued in time, I could not be with Muktijoddha," informed Amin Ahmed.

He viewed the discontinuation of the league and irregular tournaments as the failures of the country's football. In order to fix all these problems, BFF must become a strong organisation, he stated.

"I am urging all organisers to come forward and work together," proclaimed Amin.

National Booters Form Club

2008-04-14T12:35:00.000+01:00

A group of national footballers formed a club named 'Sporting Independent Club' with a vision to lend support for the future talent across the country.

Former national captain Arif Khan Joy disclosed the details during a press conference at the Dhaka University gymnasium yesterday.

"Our main objective is to arrange training camps for the children across the country and the good news is that one of our well-known coaches Wajed Gazi has agreed to work as the head coach to run this programme smoothly," informed Joy.

"And you know the players who are not from Dhaka have to face a lot of hassle to find a club. We will try to help them negotiate with the clubs," he added.

Joy however made it clear that it's not a parallel organisation of the Football Players' Association.

"It's a totally different organisation," said Joy.

He also informed that they would hold exhibition matches across the country to raise funds to conduct the camps and run this organisation.

"We will play exhibition matches to collect money and it would be our main source of income but we will also try to collect money from other sources," said Joy adding that they will play their first match at Cox's Bazar on April 16 and the second match on the following day at Chokoria.

Besides Joy, striker Alfaz Ahmed and Arman Miah were the other notable faces among nearly 30 footballers present during the briefing.

Should I Get a Forum?

2008-03-24T10:22:00.004Z

I've been thinking about it lately. I know I had one before and it wasn't popular but that was when this site hardly had any visitors. Plus, it was a a crap free forum so it may have put people off. Now, if I do install a forum, I plan to use SMF, so the quality will be much better.

The reason I have been thinking about it is that a lot of people ask similar questions but they write them in any post, such as the 888.com advert. That is just a advert, yet it has over 30 comments. Also, a lot of the questions get lost within the vast number of comments so can be hard to address them. Oh, and most people appear anonymous too...

So what do you think? Vote in the poll in the right sidebar and leave any additional comments below.

Looking forward to getting some feedback.

BFF Names Challenge Cup and SAFF Squad

2008-03-22T22:57:00.004Z

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) yesterday announced a 28-member preliminary national football squad for the two upcoming international football tournaments.

Bangladesh will take part in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying round matches to be held from May 5 in Kyrgyzstan and the SAFF Championship from June 3, to be held jointly in Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The selected footballers have been asked to report to coach Abu Yousuf at the BFF Bhaban on March 27.

Preliminary squad for AFC Challenge Cup and SAFF Championship:

Aminul Haque, Biplob Bhatachariya, Ziaur Rahman, Hasan Al Mamun, Wali Faisal, Ariful Islam, Rajani Kanta Barman, Arup Kumar Boydha, Atiqur Rahman Mishu, Mahmudul Hasan, Kazi Mozammel Hossain Saikat, Zahirul Islam, Arman Aziz, Enamul Haq Sharif, Maruf Ahmed, Zumratul Hossain Mithu, Faisal Mahmud, Zahid Hasan, Zahid Pervez Chowdhury, Mohammad Kabir Hossain, Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan, Kollal Kumar Ghose Zuku, Mamunul Islam Mamun, Mehdi Hasan Uzzal, Abul Hossain, Mohammad Robin, Zahid Hasan Emily, Abdul Baten Mujumder Komol.

Domestic Football from July

2008-03-21T09:49:00.000Z

The football season of 2008 will kick of on July 1 with the Federation Cup, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and the professional league clubs announced yesterday.

With the footballers calling strike in the wake of the cancellation of this month's transfer for the B. League and taking a decision of not playing for even the national team, the BFF involved the clubs to make a joint statement at the BFF Bhaban to convince the players about the authenticity of the declaration.

The representatives of the eight clubs were present while BFF president SA Sultan announced that the transfer will be held from May 15-30 and the B. League will begin on July 20.

Although the transfer is scheduled for May, domestic football will start in July as the national team will be busy in May and June for the AFC Challenge Cup in Kyrgyzstan and the SAFF Championship in Maldives and Sri Lanka.

When asked about the players' decision not to participate in any activities under the BFF till the transfer, Sultan hoped that the booters would understand the situation and move from the decision to not attend the national camp.

Abahani director Kazi Nabil, who was present, said they have already talked with the players who have agreed to join the national camp.

But they still will not play in domestic football until the transfer.

It would kill BFF's remaining hopes to stage the Swadhinata Cup this month.

BFF, Clubs to Make Joint Announcement

2008-03-20T21:52:00.002Z

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is expected to make a joint declaration today with the professional clubs about the transfers for the new season.

After a short meeting of the executive committee yesterday, the BFF high-ups announced that they will sit with the clubs before giving a fresh transfer date.

BFF president SA Sultan said they have received a positive response from the footballers to call off the strike, especially for the national camp.

"We are going to announce a concrete date for the transfer and hope that everyone would be satisfied with the decision," the BFF chief said.

BFF acting general secretary Manzoor Hossain Malu has been given the responsibility to talk with the players before today's announcement.

However, it is unlikely that the clubs would move from their decision to go into the transfer after next month's BFF election.

The BFF is also likely to name the preliminary national squad within a couple of days.

Footballers Call Strike

2008-03-19T21:50:00.000Z

Bangladesh's preparation for two international football tournaments - the AFC Challenge Cup and the SAFF Championship - ran into jeopardy as the desperate footballers called a strike yesterday against the football's governing body.

In the wake of the cancellation of the new season's transfer, the footballers decided not to play for the national team or in any tournament under the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).

The national team were due to start training for next month's Challenge Cup in Kyrgyzstan within a week but former national captain Arif Khan Joy conveyed the decision of about 40 booters present at the Dhaka University ground saying they would boycott the BFF.

"We have decided not to play under the federation until the players get contracts for the new season," Joy told reporters.

"We will also not play for the national team," he added.

The transfer for the B. League started on March 15 but after the professional league clubs of Dhaka declined to take part, the BFF had to cancel it and announced that the transfer would be held after the April 28 election.

"Even if the BFF hastily announces another date for transfer soon, we will not move from our position. We want to see some real action from the federation and clubs," said Jewel Rana, another ex-national captain.

The BFF president, however, believed that the booters would change their stance for the sake of the national team.

"We will sit with the players. I hope they will consider the national pride," Sultan commented.

Hammam Coming to Dhaka

2008-03-18T22:59:00.000Z

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammed Bin Hammam is expected to arrive in Dhaka on March 28 to open two projects of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).

The AFC boss will lay the foundation stones of the synthetic turf to be placed under the FIFA Goal project at the ground adjacent to the BFF Bhaban and a football centre in Barisal under the FIFA Tsunami fund on March 29.

Both the lands were given to the BFF by National Sports Council (NSC).

Before his departure on the same night, Hammam could meet NSC chairman and Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed.

Youngmen's Club Secure Senior Division Title

2008-03-18T21:03:00.001Z

Youngmen's Club Fakirerpool sealed their first major title in domestic football when they ensured unassailable lead in the Senior Division Football League table after contenders Victoria and Sunrise SC drew their crucial super league match yesterday.

With two matches in hand, Youngmen's Club's collection is 36 points from 15 outings while Sunrise increased their tally to 28 points also after same number of matches following the goalless draw at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

After 15 games, Victoria stood on 26 points.

In the relegation league, Wari Club defeated Dipali Juba Sangha 2-0 with Selim and Babu scoring after the break.

Call to End Transfer Deadlock

2008-03-17T20:58:00.000Z

Footballers yesterday appealed to the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to take initiative to sit with the clubs in a bid to end the recent stalemate.

Irked the clubs' decision not to go into transfer for the second B. League under the incumbent executive committee, the top footballers met BFF acting general secretary Manzoor Hossain Malu last evening to make the request to the football's governing body in the country.

The transfer officially began on Saturday without any clubs even showing interest to participate.

The eight professional clubs of Dhaka, meanwhile, are expected to sit today to discuss the issue before their scheduled meeting with the BFF later on the day.

The BFF has requested the clubs to reconsider their decision and invited them for a talk.

"We know that the clubs are going through economic strains. But we have to run the game for the sake of the players and the game. If we fail to do that, football will suffer," said Malu.

The booters, who gathered at the BFF Bhaban, told every player has been suffering.

"It has been seven months since the B. League ended. The professional league was supposed to give us 11 months of football. But we have spent over half a year without playing any league," told former national footballer Jewel Rana.

"Due to uncertainty, many young players have decided to quit football. This thing can't go for long," said Jewel, who was accompanied by Arif Khan Joy, Alfaz Ahmed, Aminul Haque, Biplab Bhattachariya, Arman Aziz and others.

The BFF, who has ensured a sponsor for the coming B. League, is even ready to give fund to the clubs, it was learned.

Organisers and footballers in a joint statement to the BFF also asked for a meeting among organisers, player, clubs and the BFF to make effort to start the transfers.

They also demanded the BFF to give time to the 13 districts and three divisions the chance to form Football Associations.

Although the EC of BFF decided not to give further time to the districts and divisions who have failed to form the FAs, it was learned that BFF president SA Sultan has been trying to make a way for the left behind associations.